


It's Late And Getting Later

by camichats



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern: No Powers, Angst, Aromantic Remus, Fluff, Getting Together, Identity Porn, M/M, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-01
Updated: 2017-06-01
Packaged: 2018-11-07 21:10:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11067210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/camichats/pseuds/camichats
Summary: Sirius fancies James, who fancies a poet, who is Sirius, but James doesn't know that. It works out.





	It's Late And Getting Later

**Author's Note:**

> For the prompt: “Do you ever write AUs or do you focus on Hogwarts? Because I love AUs with James and Sirius in college. I can see them in a math/sciences program and Sirius has a secret hobby writing poetry. Wouldn't it be lovely for James to find something he'd written and fall in love with the writer before realizing Sirius wrote the poems. <3” 
> 
> So this is more towards the end of this scenario but i hope you like it :D
> 
> Also, the title and poem referenced is from [The Poem Wants A Drink](http://www.tnellen.com/cybereng/poetry/drink.html) by Karen Glenn

Sirius groaned, his head falling forward onto the table where he began to thump it as if that would help him on the assignment.

“If you’d done this yesterday instead of getting smashed with Prongs, this wouldn’t be a problem,” Peter said.

Sirius shot him a v without looking up and stopped hitting his head, just letting his forehead rest on the tabletop.

“Wait why’d you go drinking?” Remus asked. “I thought you were planning to work on your thesis or summat?”

“Fuck. You.”

“Ohhh,” Peter said, and Sirius decidedly did _not_ like that tone. He half lifted his head in worry. “You know Padfoot,” he said, addressing Sirius directly, “you could save yourself a load of trouble if you told James you fancy him.”

Sirius flung the closest handful of papers at Pete’s face. He sat all the way up only to lean back in the chair with his arms crossed over his chest. “I really couldn’t.” James had spent all last night waxing poetic about the lad he fancies, which was the reason Sirius had drunk as much as he did instead of keeping it short like he’d planned to. A simple night in had turned into something of a binge the second James opened his mouth with hearts in his eyes.

“Yes you could,” Remus insisted, helping Peter collect the papers.

“Relationship advice from you Moons? Really?” Not to say that this hadn’t happened before-- the opposite, in fact. Remus was fond of giving him advice that Sirius promptly ignored when he should’ve listened. He never learned from the mistake, which resulted in a few explosive break-ups with his partners through the years.

“I’m aromantic not a moron. Why can you not?”

“The poetry guy.”

“...What?” Peter asked.

Sirius heaved a put-upon sigh and explained, “James found this guy’s poetry and fell in love with him through them.” _And oh_ by the way _that person is secretly me but James is 100% not interested in me when I’m_ me _so… yeah, I’m not going to bloody tell him anything._

Remus looked at him incredulously.

“What?” Sirius asked, more than a little defensive.

He took a grounding breath. “Look,” Remus started, looking far more serious than Sirius was currently comfortable with considering they were in the middle of a cafe, “I’m not saying that James is going to magically feel something for you if you tell him, but the way you’re going on right now? It’s not sustainable mate. And this random poet isn’t going to change that. Besides, what James is feeling towards this poet would be infatuation, not love, if they’ve never interacted,” he added as an afterthought. “Lust at first reading or summat.”

“Wow thanks I feel so much better,” Sirius deadpanned.

Remus shrugged. “You’re making this harder than it needs to be. If you took my advice at least _once,_ you’d realise that you should follow it more often.”

Sirius made a face and looked to Peter, who only raised an eyebrow, agreeing with Remus. “Traitor,” Sirius grumbled. “You really think I should tell him?” They both nodded. Sirius huffed, but said, “Fine. I will, but I won’t be happy about it.”

Peter pat his hand comfortingly. “It’ll be worth it in the end mate.”

Sirius doubted that but started working on his revision without further complaint.

* * *

 

Sirius finished before Peter and Remus, so he went back to the flat they all shared to ask James what he wanted for dinner. He snorted to himself. _Hey James what’re you in the mood for? Yeah I could go for that. I love you, by the way, romantically if that wasn’t clear_. Yeah. Perfect plan.

Of course Sirius didn’t get the chance to try anything because as soon as he walked in James attack-hugged him. “Er, Prongs? You feeling alright there mate?”

“You could’ve said something.” James mumbled, not answering Sirius’s question.

A jolt of panic went through Sirius, thinking that James had found out about Sirius’s feelings for him. It was clouded over by confusion and the desperate desire to not give himself away so he said, “About…?”

James stepped back, mussing his hair and avoiding looking at Sirius as he blushed. “The poems. I mean, I know I made a big deal about all- that, but if you’d mentioned, I wouldn’t have gone on like I did.” Sirius just stared at him. “Erm- Siri? You okay?”

He nodded without processing the question.

It was clear that James didn’t believe him when he laughed nervously and started rambling. “I feel like such an arse you know? Going on and on about how great this lad was when it was _you_ the whole time, and it isn’t on for me to be fancying you, I know. I mean, we’re best mates, right? I understand you not telling me, but that must’ve been awkward as hell.” He was blushing again. “Just give me some time and I’ll- well I don’t want to say ‘get over you’ because it’s not-” he scrunched up his face as he tried to think of what he wanted to finish that with.

Sirius blinked. “‘Get over me’?”

James looked resigned. “I know, I know, that might be weird with how close we are.”

“You… like me?”

James was starting to look-- _really_ look-- at Sirius and was immediately confused at _Sirius’s_ confusion. “Er, yeah? I thought that was obvious,” he said uncomfortably, only just starting to think that maybe he’d made a few incorrect assumptions.

Numbly, Sirius shook his head. “You liked the poems. The poetry guy was actually me, yeah but.”

James let out a strained chuckle. “Si, I was trying to move on from you _with_ the poetry guy. Lot of good that did me, I fell for you twice.”

Sirius started to laugh, bringing up his hand to cover his mouth, but it didn’t stop the admittedly hysterical noise from escaping. “I can’t believe you fancy me. This whole time we could’ve been…” He shook his head. “Unbelievable,” he whispered. Sirius looked at James again, grabbing the back of his neck and dragging him in for what was probably the most sloppy first kiss of all time.

James held onto Sirius’s arm like he couldn’t believe what was happening and didn’t want it to end. “But- the poems. You were writing about someone you love.”

A small huff of laughter left Sirius, puffing across James’s face because of how close they were. “I was writing about you, you berk.”

“Bugger- wait, seriously?”

Sirius nodded, kissing him again. “You remember ‘The Poem Wants A Drink’?”

“Course. It’s one of my favourites,” he admitted around a grin.

“I wrote that, in part, after you told me you fancied the poetry guy. There was that other shite with my family remember?” James nodded and kissed him-- and _oh god_ did it feel good to kiss so easily. “That’s what most of that poem was about, but erm, almost all of those poems were about you.”

“So what you’re saying is that I’m gorgeous enough to inspire poetry?” James asked with a shit-eating grin.

Sirius groaned and let his head drop to James’s shoulder. “Fuck off.”

“With you? Gladly.”

**Author's Note:**

> I take prompts on tumblr [@siriuslystarbucks](http://siriuslystarbucks.tumblr.com/) or here in the comments ^-^


End file.
